Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rockets - conduct nuclear fission reactions
similar to those safely employed at nuclear power plants including
submarines. The energy is used to heat the liquid hydrogen
propellant. Courtesy of NASA Glenn Research Center

Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rockets conduct
nuclear fission reactions similar to those safely employed at
nuclear power plants including submarines. The energy is used to
heat the liquid hydrogen propellant. Advocates of nuclear powered
spacecraft point out that at the time of launch, there is almost no
radiation released from the nuclear reactors. The nuclear-powered
rockets are not used to lift off the Earth. Nuclear thermal rockets
can provide great performance advantages compared to chemical
propulsion systems. Nuclear power sources could also be used to
provide the spacecraft with electrical power for operations and
scientific instrumentation.[1]

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Anatolij Perminov, head of Russian Space Agency announced that
RKA is going to develop a nuclear powered spacecraft for deep space
travel. Design will be done by 2012, and 9 more years for
development (in space assembly). The price is set to 17 billion
rubles (600 million dollars).

See also

Project
Pluto, which developed an unmanned cruise missile that used a
nuclear powered ramjet for propulsion.